Cycling BC Junior Squad Leads Tour of Walla Walla into Final Day

release by Cycling BC

April 17, 2011 (Walla Walla, WA) – Six of British Columbia’s top junior road cyclists have been shouldered with task of defending the leader’s jersey at the Tour of Walla Walla in Washington State. Seventeen year-old Nigel Ellsay leads the Category 3 classification after three of four stages. With Ellsay is a formidable contingent of BC junior cyclists including Henri de Boever, Adam de Vos, Jeff Doyle, Geordie Morrison, and Jordan Duncan. The team is being guided by Provincial Junior Road & Track Coach Jeff Ain.

Racing started on Friday afternoon with a 70km road race with a 3km final climb. The BC Juniors were active throughout the race putting two riders in the top 10. On hand for Saturday was a double day with a time trial in the morning and a criterium in the afternoon. This is where Ellsay put his mark on the race, winning the 14.88km/9.3-mile race by over 40 seconds. The leader’s jersey could only be properly defended with a well-executed team effort in the criterium, and the riders did not disappoint, making the race fast and furious. Adam de Vos finished things off with a well-deserved third place.

“The whole team is showing that they are able to race effectively as a cohesive team. They have come a long way in such a short span of time,” said coach Ain. The final stage is set for Sunday with a 103km road race featuring over 1,000m of climbing.

The Tour of Walla Walla is a targeted project for the Cycling BC Junior Program for 2011. The main goals of the program are to provide opportunities for BC junior cyclists to train and race together, and move forward to the national cycling stream.